Reading KK
by The Cake Genius
Summary: You always liked puzzles, from the moment you were born. And you think that perhaps you've found your favorite one. SolKat, rated for KK's language.


**Dsiclaimer: I do not own Homestuck. Do I look like Andrew Hussie? Yeah, I didn't think so.**

**A/N: Finally, I wrote one!**

You always liked puzzles. You always liked anything that could make you feel in control. When you were barely past your wriggling stage, the mood swings were at their worst; one minute, you'd be gurgling happily, the next, sobbing like your world had just ended. Your lusus didn't do a damn thing to help you, so you could only recite your two-times tables as you rocked and rocked with your arms around your knees until all that was left in your mind was numbers, numbers, numbers instead of feelings.

_Two times one is two._

_Two times two is four._

_Two times three is six..._

You always liked puzzles. You always liked anything that provided amusement, cooped-up as you were. When you were three sweeps old, and your lusus was in the stupor your honey put him in, you found a dusty old book on computers. You read until your eyes were so sore, you had to take off your glasses to rub at them. From then on, you spent hours every day memorizing the structure of codes and upgrading your computer when you had trouble with remembering to breathe.

_#FF0000_

_#0000FF..._

You always liked puzzles. You always had a grudging affinity for anything that made you feel even a twinge of emotion outside of your isolated numbness. One day on your new chat site, you received a message in dark gray (_#808080_) text:

_-carcinoGenecist [CG] began trolling twinArmaggedons [TA] -_

_CG: HEY, FUCKASS._

_CG: ARADIA TOLD ME THAT YOU WERE GOING TO JOIN OUR LITTLE GROUP OF TEDIOUS STUPIDITY._

_CG: PERSONALLY, I THOUGHT I'D WELCOME YOU WITH AN HONORARY WARNING_

_CG: THAT EVERYONE IS RETARDED BEYOND THE LEVEL OF COMPREHENSION THAT CAN CRAWL ITS PATHETIC WAY INTO YOUR THINKPAN_

_CG: SO PREPARE YOURSELF, STRANGER, FOR A CARNIVAL OF NIMWITS PARADING THEIR ASSES OFF LIKE WE ALL GOT INVITED TO ASSHOLES ANONYMOUS AND THEY'RE THE FUCKING VIP._

_TA: who even are you._

_CG: YOUR MIRTHFUL MESSIAH COME TO DELIVER YOU._

_CG: ARRIVE WITH BOMBS STRAPPED TO YOUR CHEST WHICH I'M SURE IS VIRTUALLY NONEXISTENT AND SEND A SORROWFUL FUCKING FAREWELL TO YOUR LOVED ONES, BECAUSE WHATEVER ARADIA TOLD YOU, IT IS A HUNDRED TIMES WORSE._

_CG: NO, A THOUSAND._

_TA: you're here two giive me comiic reliief then, becau2e you are hiilariiou2._

You always liked puzzles.

Your mind honey increased in amount, and your lusus became more of a passing fog than a custodian to you. You spent whole parts of your day doing nothing but humor your new friends, most of which you weren't actually fond of. Most of them were so boring, they made you want to throw your husktop at the wall.

Except for...

_- twinArmaggedons [TA] began trolling carcinoGenecist [CG] -_

_TA: karkat_

_TA: iim calliing you kk from now on._

_TA: ju2t a head2-up._

_- twinArmaggedons [TA] ceased trolling carcinoGenecist [CG] -_

You always liked puzzles. You loved coding forever. You became aware, through your conversations with your new chums,that everyone had their own sort of code, their own way of saying things that you had to learn how to read yourself.

Aradia was very easy to decode; she normally said what she felt.

Nepeta spoke like a five-year-old and spazzed out about stupid things.

Gamzee wasn't trustworthy, because he had no idea what he was talking about.

Eridan needed love, and was deluded that if he flirted long enough he would get it (the 2tupiid a22hole).

And KK... KK was maybe the most complex, because he almost always meant the opposite of what he said.

"FUCK OFF" meant "I need someone to talk to."

"YOU'RE NOT SO MUCH OF AN IDIOT" meant "I don't want to respect you, but I really do. A lot."

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT" meant "My heart is fucking breaking and I don't know how to fix it."

"MY BLOOD COLOR ISN'T ANY OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS, ASSHOLE" meant "I'm scared, and I don't want to be walked all over."

Mostly, things just boiled down to "I hate myself. I, Karkat 'kk' Vantas, hate myself more than I could ever hate any of you."

So whenever you were on the receiving end of an especially long rant, you'd just chuckle to yourself and make an occasional pacifying comment.

Other people, you like to decode. It wasn't as fun when you noticed things that maybe you didn't want to notice. Like how maybe gray was the prettiest color. And maybe being shouted at was better than speaking softly or holding hands, because it expressed so much more. That you found yourself trying to imagine how his face looked in your mind on nights when rain was loud and heavy. And how youknew he was afraid of that thunderstorm when he came to you to rant to.

But, just maybe, you wouldn't want it any other way.

So one day, in a chat log, when he messaged you again:

_CG: I WAS THINKING_

_CG: AND MAYBE I DON'T HATE YOU SO MUCH._

_CG: I MEAN, I HATE YOU LESS THAN I HATE THE OTHER TROLLS, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT AS MUCH OF A DUMBASS AND YOUR FACE DOESN'T MAKE ME WANT TO VOMIT._

_CG: I MEAN, NOT THAT I'M DYING TO MEET YOU OR ANYTHING, I JUST THOUGHT I'D SAY THAT YOU'RE NOT AS INSUFFEREABLE AS I THOUGHT YOU WERE, AND_

_TA: jee2, kk, calm down._

_TA: ii love you, two._

_CG:... OH._

_CG: OKAY, THEN._

_CG: COOL._

You always did like puzzles. And you think, as you grin for the first time at your computer screen, that you might have just found your favorite puzzle of all.


End file.
